Types of inhabited localities in Russia
The classification system of the types of inhabited localities in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared to the classification systems in other countries. Modern classification in Russia During the Soviet time, each of the republics of the Soviet Union, including the Russian SFSR, had its own legislative documents dealing with classification of inhabited localities.In the Russian SFSR, the issues of the administrative and territorial division, including the system of classification of the inhabited localities, was regulated by the Statute On Procedure of Resolving the Issues of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the RSFSR, approved by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on August 17, 1982 ( ) After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the task of developing and maintaining such classification in Russia was delegated to the federal subjects.Articles 71 and 72 of the Constitution of Russia do not name issues of the administrative and territorial structure among the tasks handled on the federal level or jointly with the governments of the federal subjects. As such, all federal subjects pass their own laws establishing the system of the administrative-territorial divisions on their territories. While currently there are certain peculiarities to classifications used in many federal subjects, they are all still largely based on the system used in the RSFSR. In all federal subjects, the inhabited localities are classified into two major categories: urban and rural.See, for example, the results of the 2002 population Census Further divisions of these categories vary slightly from one federal subject to another, but they all follow common trends described below. Urban localities *'Cities' and towns ( , gorod; pl. , goroda). Cities and towns are classified by their level of jurisdiction (district/federal subject/federal). While the Russian language has no separate words for "town" and "city" (" " is used for both), in translation, the word "city" is traditionally applied to the urban localities with a population of at least 100,000. *'Urban-type settlements' ( , posyolok gorodskogo tipa; pl. ) is a type of smaller urban locality. This type of urban locality was first introduced in the Soviet Union in 1924, with the following subcategories: (Resolution of the All-Union Executive Committee and the Soviet of People's Commissars of September 15, 1924 General Statute on Urban and Rural Settlements) **Urban-type settlement proper—mostly urban population of 3,000–12,000. ***Work settlement ( , rabochy posyolok)—mostly urban population occupied in industrial manufacture. ***Suburban (dacha) settlement ( , dachny posyolok)—typically, a suburban settlement with summer dachas. ***Resort settlement ( , kurortny posyolok)—mostly urban population occupied in services. In 1957, the procedures for categorizing urban-type settlements were further refined. (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of September 12, 1957 On Procedures of Categorizing the Inhabited Localities as Cities, Work and Resort Settlements) Rural localities Multiple types of rural localities exist, some common through the whole territory of Russia, some specific to certain federal subjects. The most common types include: *'Villages''' ( , derevnya; pl. , derevni) *'Selos' ( , selo; pl. , syola), also translated as village *'(Rural-type) settlements' ( , posyolok (selskogo tipa); pl. ). The "rural-type" ( ) designation is added to the settlements the population of which is mostly occupied in agriculture, while posyolok ( ) proper indicates a mix of population working in agriculture and industry. *'Stanitsas' ( , stanitsa; pl. , stanitsy)—historically, a Cossack rural locality. The name is still currently in use, with the basic meaning of "village". *'Slobodas' ( , sloboda; pl. , slobody)—historically, a settlement freed from taxes and levies for various reasons. The name is still currently in use with the basic meaning of "village". *'Khutors' ( , khutor; pl. , khutora)—translated as "hamlet", "farmstead", or "village". *'Pochinoks' ( , pochinok; pl. , pochinki)—a newly formed rural locality of one or several families. Pochinoks are established as new settlements and usually grow into larger villages as they develop. *In some federal subjects, ethnic terminology is used in the Russian language. Such locality types include (aul), (aal), and (kishlak). Historical terms *'Krepost' ( , a fort), a fortified settlement. A Kremlin, Russian citadel, is a major krepost usually including a castle and surrounded by posad. Ostrog, on the other hand, was a more primitive kind of krepost which could be put up quickly within rough walls of debarked pointed timber. *'Posad' ( ), a medieval suburban settlement. *'Mestechko' ( , from ; a small town in Western Krai annexed during the Partitions of Poland; typically with Jewish majority. *'Pogost' See also *Subdivisions of Russia *Town of district significance *City of federal subject significance *List of terms for country subdivisions References *